EP344 How Emery and Opal Grew Their Handmade Jewelry Business to a Million Dollars
People think that you need a massive team and a complex structure to build a million-dollar company.
But what many fail to realize is that if you simplify and streamline your growing company, you can achieve a million-dollar business, even in the handmade jewelry niche.
That’s how our Momentum students, Tiffany and Amanda Reis, grew Emery and Opal into a million-dollar jewelry company.
Since they were kids, sisters – Tiffany and Amanda, have been very passionate about jewelry making. They used to sell friendship bracelets to all the other kids on the block and knew it was what they wanted to do when they grew up.
Their grandmother was among their biggest cheerleaders and a significant influence in their lives. They attributed her spirit as the driving force behind their success.
So when they started their company in May, they chose to name it Emery (May birthstone) and Opal (their grandmother's October birthstone).
Tiffany and Amanda sat down with me to share the heartwarming story of how they grew their handmade jewelry business to a million dollars.
Here are some tips from Tiffany and Amanda on scaling Emery and Opal.
Communication is Key
Tiffany and Amanda say communication was a significant factor in their success. They made sure that if something was bothering them, they sat down, talked about it, and came up with solutions.
They've gotten to know their strengths and weaknesses through the years, so they've fallen into their roles naturally.
Amanda is passionate about making jewelry, so she takes care of production, while Tiffany handles their marketing and operations.
Although their roles often overlap, they ensure that they’3re always on the same page., so sitting down, discussing, Discussing and defining their roles, especially when their team is growing, has been a critical factor.
Work ON the Business, not IN the Business
Tiffany and Amanda say hiring a team and putting the right people in the right places completely changed how they ran their business.
They've recently hired a shipping and production team.
Amanda says that letting go of production was initially really hard for her, but soon she found out how amazing it was because now she gets to work on tasks she loves.
Have a plan
Your business will feel directionles unless you have a plan.
Tiffany and Amanda implemented the planning strategies they learned in our Momentum program to set their handmade jewelry business on the right track. With the help of their coaches, they did a thorough re-evaluation of their business and went granular, establishing yearly, quarterly, and monthly plans.
Planning has greatly helped them minimize costs. This allowed them to optimize their inventory and do bulk orders on supplies, which is very helpful, especially given the global supply chain issues.
Price for Profit
Under the guidance of their Momentum coaches, Tiffany and Amanda realized many of their prices didn't match their costs.
They also discovered they weren't looking at their profit and loss statements as much as they should be.
Tiffany and Amanda learned how to price their items correctly, and they gradually increased their prices. They said this was one of the critical factors that helped them grow their business.
Diversify Platforms
Tiffany and Amanda used to sell mainly on Etsy. But when the platform crashed, they realized the dangers of relying on these platforms.
“There was a day last year that Etsy was down. For days, we got zero sales from there, and I think that made us realize, we should really spread out where we're selling. Who knows what's gonna happen to Etsy, who knows what's gonna happen to Amazon,” says Tiffany.
Now they're getting help with their website optimization and conversion through Momentum. They're also working to expand into wholesale and other platforms.
Want to know the exact steps Tiffany and Amanda took to stop relying on Etsy and consistently grow to a million dollars in revenue?
Listen to the full interview above and discover the lessons Tiffany and Amanda learned from our Momentum Program and the strategies that they implemented to grow their handmade jewelry business to a million dollars.
xo, Tracy
Links:
Follow Emery and Opal on Instagram
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